email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

SAN SEBASTIÁN 2016 France

This year’s San Sebastián has a distinct French flavour

by 

- Bercot, des Pallières and Bonello are in competition, Jérôme Salle will close the gathering, and Morgan Simon and Jean-Gabriel Périot have secured a place in New Directors

This year’s San Sebastián has a distinct French flavour
150 Milligrams by Emmanuelle Bercot

With 31 features in the Basque showcase (13 majority productions and 18 minority ones), France stands proud on the line-up of the 64th San Sebastián Film Festival (16-24 September 2016) and has secured some first-rate spots, as the gathering will be opened in competition tomorrow by 150 Milligrams [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Emmanuelle Bercot (toplined by Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen – produced by Haut et Court, which will distribute the movie in France from 23 November – sales by Wild Bunch) and will be closed out of competition by The Odyssey [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Jérôme Salle (produced by Pan Européenne, Curiosa Films and Moana Films, co-produced by Belgian outfit Versus – also being sold by Wild Bunch, which will release the movie in French theatres on 12 October).

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Three additional majority French productions are in the running for the 2016 Golden Shell: the excellent Orphan [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arnaud des Pallières
film profile
]
by Arnaud des Pallières (produced by Les Films Hatari, co-produced by Les Films d'Ici, Arte France Cinéma and Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, sold overseas by Le Pacte, which will distribute it in France from 5 April 2017), Nocturama [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bertrand Bonello
film profile
]
by Bertrand Bonello (produced by Rectangle, co-produced by Pandora, Scope Pictures and Arte France Cinéma – sold by Wild Bunch, which brought the film out in France on 31 August) and Jesús [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Fernando Guzzoni (executive-produced by Paris-based outfit JBA together with Chile, Germany and Greece – sales by Premium Films).

Also featuring among the 17 titles in the main competition is a minority French co-production, with The Winter [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Emiliano Torres (co-produced with Argentina by Cité Films – which is also in charge of the sales – and Orange Studio), and Paris-based company Indie Sales is selling The Giant [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Johannes Nyholm
film profile
]
by Swedish director Johannes Niholm. Lastly, we should point out that Wild Bunch is selling Snowden [+see also:
trailer
interview: Oliver Stone
film profile
]
by US director Oliver Stone, which will be screened out of competition in the official selection. 

In the competitive New Directors section, audiences will be able to discover A Taste of Ink [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Morgan Simon
film profile
]
by Morgan Simon (a feature debut produced by Kazak, which will come out in France on 1 February 2017, courtesy of Rezo Films, and is being sold by Versatile) and Summer Lights [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Jean-Gabriel Périot (produced by Local Films – sold by MPM Film – a fiction feature, following the filmmaker’s head-turning documentary A German Youth [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
). Also of note in this section are two minority French films, with the doc In Between [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maysaloun Hamoud
film profile
]
by Maysaloun Hamoud (co-produced by En Compagnie des Lamas with Israel) and Porto [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gabe Klinger
film profile
]
by Gabe Klinger (co-produced by Gladys Glover with Portugal and the United States), in addition to three other features being sold by French sales agents: Le Ciel flamand [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Peter Monsaert
film profile
]
by Belgium’s Peter Monsaert (sold by UDI), Pretenders [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Estonia’s Vallo Toomla (sold by Wide Management) and Park [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sofia Exarchou
film profile
]
by Greece’s Sofia Exarchou (sold by Stray Dogs).

The rest of the programme of this edition of San Sebastián is brimming with French productions. On the line-up of the Pearls section we find Frantz [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: François Ozon
film profile
]
by François Ozon, Things to Come [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Mia Hansen-Løve
film profile
]
by Mia Hansen-Love, Elle [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Dutch director Paul Verhoeven and the animated title The Red Turtle [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by his fellow countryman Michael Dudok de Wit and, among the minority French productions, My Life as a Courgette [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claude Barras
film profile
]
by Swiss filmmaker Claude Barras, Palme d'Or winner I, Daniel Blake [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by British director Ken Loach, Berlinale Golden Bear winner Fire at Sea [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianfranco Rosi
film profile
]
by Italy’s Gianfranco Rosi, Sieranevada [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Cristi Puiu
film profile
]
by Romania’s Cristi Puiu, After Love [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Lafosse
film profile
]
by Belgium’s Joachim Lafosse and Neruda [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Chile’s Pablo Larrain.

The competitive Zabaltegi section includes the documentary Journey Through French Cinema [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Bertrand Tavernier, the animated film Louise by the Shore [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Jean-François Laguionie and four minority co-productions (The Ornithologist [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: João Pedro Rodrigues
film profile
]
by Joao Pedro Rodrigues, Zoology [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan I Tverdovsky
film profile
]
by Russia’s Ivan I Tverdovsky, and the docs Eat That Question – Frank Zappa in His Own Words [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Germany’s Thorsten Schūtte and Memory Exercises [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Paraguay’s Paz Encina). Lastly, featuring on the menu in Horizontes Latinos are five minority French films: The Untamed [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Mexico’s Amat EscalanteThe Blind Christ [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Chile’s Christopher Murray (co-produced with Chile by Ciné-Sud Promotion), Much Ado About Nothing [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by his fellow countryman Alejandro Fernandes Almendras, Santa & Andres [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Cuba’s Carlos Lechuga and The Cambridge Squatter [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Brazil’s Eliane Caffé.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

(Translated from French)

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

Privacy Policy